Friends Of Merrymeeting Bay

Category: Events

  • PFAS Distribution in Lower Casco & Merrymeeting Bay Watersheds

    PFAS Distribution in Lower Casco & Merrymeeting Bay Watersheds

    Chris Aeppli, PhD, Environmental Chemist & Senior Research Scientist,
    Bigelow Ocean Lab for Ocean Sciences

    Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 7:00 pm
    Register for Zoom Presentation


    Christoph Aeppli

    Christoph Aeppli is an environmental chemist and senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine. He leads a research program in marine pollution and a testing center for “forever chemicals” (PFAS). Chris studies the fate of organic chemicals in aquatic environments, with a focus on PFAS and oil residues from marine oil spills. His current work includes tracing the sources and pathways of PFAS in coastal waters such as Casco Bay. Aeppli’s research investigates the physical and chemical processes that control how these contaminants move, change, and affect marine life.

    This project collected and shared data about the distribution, levels, and source contributions of PFAS in Casco Bay and its watershed including the Kennebec and Androscoggin River and Merrymeeting Bay. It includes bay-wide sampling, comprehensive PFAS analysis, assessment of source contributions (from facility effluent, stormwater, leachate from biosolid and firefighting foam impacted sites), and engagement with stakeholders and decision makers.

    PFAS are a large group of emerging contaminants that are of national concern for ecosystem and human health. PFAS have multiple sources and primarily travel via groundwater and surface water, and, therefore, reach coastal ecosystems. The large number of PFAS compounds in the environment as well as the lack of detailed PFAS data in estuaries represents a major uncertainty about the scale and sources of the coastal PFAS problem. For Casco Bay, the sparse available data from water, sediment, and biota show that PFAS are present at highly variable concentrations, with several potential sources.

    This project’s comprehensive sampling and PFAS analysis of 40 compounds provide high-quality baseline data. Statistical analysis of PFAS data will delineate the importance of various sources of PFAS into the lower watershed and in particular look at effects of the BNAS PFAS spill. This project aims to provide guidance to decision makers for appropriate source control measures and regulations to ensure the long-term health of Casco Bay.

  • Speaker Series: James Madison Kendall’s Wonderful Water Wheel

    Speaker Series: James Madison Kendall’s Wonderful Water Wheel

    [vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Friends of Merrymeeting Bay’s (FOMB) second presentation of their 28th annual Winter Speaker Series, James Madison Kendall’s Wonderful Water Wheel features raconteur Bud Warren, maritime historian and co-founder of the Tide Mill Institute. Winter Speaker Series presentations are again being held via Zoom and are accessible via hyperlink at the top of the FOMB web page: www.fomb.org. This event takes place Wednesday, November 13th at 7 pm.

    It was huge. It was unique. And this mill operated successfully for decades under the Cathance River Bridge in Bowdoinham.  It was the creation of James Madison Kendall, born in 1816 to a milling family in Fairfield and dying in 1905 at 88 in Bowdoinham. This mill provided power for the Kendall Plaster and Grain Mills and Sagadahoc Fertilizer Company for well over 40 years. Today there’s little trace of it left.  This is the tale of an unusual tide mill, enhanced by historical documents and photographs.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]
    Massive driveshaft for two sash-type (up-down) saws[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Bud Warren is a popular lecturer, raconteur and co-founder and former president of the Tide Mill Institute which now has a subcommittee studying this evening’s peculiar bit of Maine’s coastal industrial history. A native of the coast, Warren knows Maine well. For nearly forty years he’s led heritage tours of the area for Smithsonian Associates, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Road Scholar and other significant groups. He’s studied, written and lectured about the region’s maritime history, its geography, its environment and culture. Bud works by poking behind the scenes to understand Maine’s people and their way of life and then finding ways to share that appreciation with visitors. A former resident of the mid-coast, he now will be coming to us live from the wilds of Millinocket.

    FOMB hosts their Winter Speaker Series October-May, on the second Wednesday of each month. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic and ability for participants to attend from out of the area, the series continues via Zoom. The FOMB December 11th presentation: Our Town! Adventures in Richmond History, features the Piti Theatre Company and Marcia Buker Elementary School’s 4th grade classes of 2023-2024. This event takes place at 7:00 pm with the Zoom registration link available at www.fomb.org a week or so prior to the presentation.

    Speaker Series presentations are free, open to the public. Visit www.fomb.org to see speaker biographies, full event schedules, video recordings of past presentations, become a member, and learn more about how you can help protect beautiful Merrymeeting Bay and the Gulf of Maine.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjasOLH23tc” css=”” title=”Watch the Presentation”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text css=””]
    Bud Warren celebrating 90th Birthday[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]